The present invention relates generally to the field of housings and, in particular, to mounting circuit boards in housings.
Housings have been used for many years to contain and/or protect electronic equipment, such as circuit boards. For example, housings contain and/or protect the circuit boards in personal computers, consumer electronics, test equipment, telecommunications equipment, such as cable modem termination systems (CMTSs), etc.
Circuit board size and cooling requirements as well as housing size requirements often dictate circuit board mounting in housings. Therefore, circuit boards are mounted within housings in a variety of ways. For example, circuit boards are frequently located in slots (conventional slot mounting) within a housing so that the circuit boards are aligned with each other to reduce housing size and are spaced apart to form cooling passages between the respective circuit boards. In conventional slot mounting, each slot typically includes a pair of grooves (or card guides) located on opposing walls of the housing, and opposing edges of the respective circuit boards are respectively inserted into each of the pair of grooves.
Unfortunately, housing size constraints frequently require circuit boards to be oriented so that slot mounting is impractical or unfeasible. For example, a number of cable providers have expressed a need for less expensive cable modem termination systems (CMTSs) that are housed in smaller housings. In response to this need, some cable equipment manufacturers are developing lower-cost CMTSs where circuit boards from existing, more expensive CMTSs that were slot mounted in a large chassis or housing are mounted in newly designed, more compact housings. This involves orienting these circuit boards so that the circuit boards are aligned with each other and are spaced apart. However, this orientation cannot be accomplished using conventional slot mounting.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for mounting circuit boards in housings so that the circuit boards are aligned with each other and are spaced apart without using conventional slot mounting.
The above-mentioned problems with using conventional slot mounting to mount circuit boards in housings and other problems are addressed by embodiments of the present invention and will be understood by reading and studying the following specification. Embodiments of the present invention provide for mounting circuit boards within a housing so that the circuit boards are aligned with each other to reduce housing size and are spaced apart to form cooling passages between the respective circuit boards without using conventional slot mounting.
More particularly, in one embodiment, a mounting apparatus having first and second blocks securable within a housing is provided. The first block has first and second grooves for respectively receiving a first edge of a first circuit board and a first edge of a second circuit board such that the first and second circuit boards are aligned with each other and are spaced apart. The second block has a groove for receiving a second edge of the first circuit board that is perpendicular to the first edge of the first circuit board and a surface to which the second circuit board is attached adjacent a second edge of the second circuit board that is perpendicular to the first edge of the second circuit board.
Another embodiment provides a method for mounting circuit boards within a housing. The method includes receiving a first edge of a first circuit board within a first groove in a first block and receiving a first edge of a second circuit board within a second groove in the first block such that the first and second circuit boards are aligned with each other and are spaced apart. Moreover, the method includes receiving a second edge of the first circuit board that is perpendicular to the first edge of the first circuit board within a groove in a second block. The method also includes securing the second circuit board adjacent a second edge of the second circuit board that is perpendicular to the first edge of the second circuit board to a surface of the second block.
Other embodiments are described and claimed.